Device for aligning sheets



DEVICE FOR ALIGNING SHEETS Filed Jan. 28, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l I I 1.6 ll/L /4/ 30 52 I5 3/ INVENTOR.

Oct 1951 w'. E. VAUGHAN, JR., ETAL 2,570,994

DEVICE FOR ALIGNING SHEETS Filed Jan. 28, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1. 'EN TOR. WILL/4M E V4z/6/I4/v 17. (fa 0v 0. EGLEJ? Patented Oct. 9, 1951 DEVIQE FOR ALIGNING SHEETS William E. Vaughan, Jr., New York, and John C. Legler, Merrick, N. Y.

Appiicaticn January 28, 1948, Serial No. 4,846

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a collating system and it particularly relates to a system for assembling and removing carbon sheets from or dinary sheets in stenographic office procedures.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved method of assembling carbon sheets with writing sheets in preparation for. typin or recording procedures, whether it ing device widely useful in the home, oiiice or factory to be used for stacking paper sheets particularly with intervening carbons which may be readily set up and may be inexpensively manufactured and sold at low cost.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it bein understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of 11- lustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation,since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactory according to one embodiment of the present invention to provide a tray having three sides in which sheets of paper and carbon may be alternately stacked depending upon the number of sheets to be typed at one operation of the machine.

Desirably the tray should have a substantial backward extension to support the rear or lower portions of the paper sheets and carbons particularly when of legal size with the walls only enclosing the forward portions of the sheets. A collapsible bracket is provided under the tray to permit support of the tray at an angle of about 45 whereby stacking is much more readily accomplished with gravity causin automatic alignment of the alternating carbon and. paper sheets. At the same time the rear of the tray is obliquely slotted so that the stack of carbons and papers formed maybe conveniently grasped and removed from the tray without disturbing the correct stacking thereof.

The interior of the tray at one side thereof is desirably provided with a series of steps which not only throw the sheets of carbon and paper to one side against a wall, but will also accommodate different widths of sheets and give a slight bellying during the stacking procedure to enhance the stacking.

In one desired form, one of the forward corners of the tray toward which the stack will be inclined is removed to enable the carbons to be removed more readily from the paper after the typing operation has been completed without disturbing the correct stacking relationship.

The invention also consists of certain new and original features of construction and combination of parts, hereinafter set forth and. claimed and as to its other objects, features and advantages, the mode of operation and manner of its organization, these, inter alia, may be better understood by referring to the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the tray in stackin position with a bracket elevating it at an. angle of about 45;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view taken upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view showing the device in use upon a smaller scale than Fig. 2; and v Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 the tray A has an adjustable supporting bracket B and is designed to L receive and align stack C.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the tray A has a floor or base it and the side walls, ll, [2 and [3. Interiorly of the base Ill are provided the steps Hi. !5 and Hi. The walls H and I2 terminat at I7 and the base NJ has an extension l8 which. is separated from the forward part of the base by the slots [9. v

The bracket 13 has a U-shaped body portion 26. The body 29 is pivotally mounted by the downwardly extending right angle lugs 2|. The bracket 20 has a U conformation with the side legs 22 and the base 23. The base 23 and corner 43 rest upon the table 44. One or both of the legs 22 have inward extensions 24 passing through the vertical elements 25 of the angle lugs 21.

The other legs 26 of the lugs 2! are held it position by the screws 27. One of the extensions 24 has an upstanding angular portion 28 which acts as a stop.

A forward corner 29 of the tray A is cut away leaving the ends 3!! and 3| of the walls l2 and I3 and the oblique corner 32 of the base l0.

As shown in Fig. 3, this will permit the fingers 33 and 53 to grip the forward corner 54 of the stack C Where it projects beyond the cut-off 29 3 while the hand 31 withdraws the carbons 35 where they project beyond the stack of sheets 36. This will permit the carbons to be removed by the hand 3'1 without disturbing the alignment of the stack C.

The steps [4, l5 and 16 will not only accommodate different sizes and widths but will also throw the stack C forwardly in direction 50 and laterally in direction 51. The steps l4, l5 and 16 may be altered in height, size and number to accommodate any arrangement of sizes, weight and thickness of sheet paper materials in stack C. The removal of corner at 29 will also aid in the alignment of the stack C since the corners of the sheets 36 will be free to project.

After the stack C is formed with alternating paper and carbon sheets, the interleaved sheets 36 may all be grasped through the slots I9 and removed for insertion into a typewriter or other business machine- After the typing is completed, the stack C may be replaced into the tray and the carbons are removed from sheets 36 as shown in Fig. 3. While still in the tray A, the sheets 36 may be clipped.

The trays of the present invention may not only be used for carbon paper assemblies, but may also be used singly or in multiple for various stacking or storage procedures where a large number of sheets of paper or other sheet materials of the same or different weights, sizes and dimensions are to be stacked, assorted or provided in different arrangements.

As many changes could be made in the above collating system and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having now particularly described and ascertalned the nature of the invention, and in What manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. A tray for holding stacked paper of different width comprising a base board having side edges and upper and lower end edges, said tray having upstanding walls along its side edges and along its lower end edges, the side walls terminating in spaced relation to upper ends of the side edges of the base board, said base board being formed with transverse slots leading from opposite side edges above the side walls at a downward incline and having their lower edges flush with upper ends of the side walls and their inner ends spaced from each other, and a series of steps in one side portion of said tray extending longitudinally in the tray between the lower edge Wall and the lower edge of the slot in the said side portion of the tray and disposed in downwardly stepped relation to each other transversely of the tray and adapting the tray to receive stacks of paper of difierent widths.

2. A tray for holding stacked paper of different predetermined widths comprising a base board having side edges and upper and lower end edges, said tray having upstanding walls along its lower end edge and along its side edges, and a stepped structure in said tray extending longitudinally of the tray in one side portion thereof, the steps of said structure being disposed in downwardly stepped relation to each other transversely of the tray from the adjoining side wall of the tray towards the base board and adapting the tray to receive stacks of paper of different widths and dispose the paper at a transverse incline towards the other side edge of the base board from the stepped structure.

WILLIAM E. VAUGHAN, JR. JOHN C. LEGLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 395,048 Gofi Dec. 25, 1888 475,043 Langstroth May 17, 1892 530,806 Tilton Dec. 11, 1894 1,160,161 Greening Nov. 16, 1915 1,611,604 Martin Dec. 21, 1926 1,727,011 Heileman Sept. 3, 1929 2,089,595 Bourne Aug. 10, 1937 2,137,588 Potteiger Nov. 22, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,190 Denmark May 2, 1910 232,623 Switzerland June 15, 1944 

